Robot cracks open safe live on Def Con's stage
bbc.com
bbc.com
Once you have found the binder, rotate it until you feel the lock open slightly and the digit ring falls into the gate. The digit ring will move freely for about 1.5 digits until it starts to seize again.
Repeat until you've found all the digits. I've done this one a number of occasions to help friends unlock their bikes, or to troll them by changing the combination on their bike.
tl;dr: combination locks suck. Don't use them, ever.
Case in point: https://youtu.be/uMvx0GtfEOk
- mechanism is rusty
- has backlash/play
you're never sure you isolated the empty slot, so you assume so, go deeper, then backtrack when you reached the leaf of that exploration tree. Also, the double scan thing made it quick enough to avoid trying to probe too long for the right slot, hence the hybrid solution.
To have to make 800 guesses, you need to have pretty bad luck, or a strategy worse than bruteforce.
About 30 seconds later, it was unlocked.
I used that lock for about 10 years, until I went to University, where the thieves were a bit smarter.
Many bike posts in my university's undercover bike shed often had several locks without a bike in sight. It turned out many people leaving bike locks on posts they often use (it doesn't take up much space or prevent someone from using the post).
It saves those cyclists the hassle of carrying the the lock with them (only the key), which is particularly an issue with those very heavy bike U-locks and D-locks.
My cherished (and uber low grade) bike was stolen in Paris. The robber didn't bother to find the code, they ripped that tiny cable apart. They were nice enough to leave the bits in a McDonald's bag where the bike was attached (and of course, the McDonald's was just in front of me). Anyway I know have a 2kg keylock chain on my new bike.
You can "expect" but if you only have one lock to unlock, it can be anything from 1 to 1000 attempts.
If you had 1000 locks, you can expect that the average would be 500 (if the numbers were truly random), but it still means that you might need one try for some locks, and 999 tries for some other lock.
When i returned to unlock it, the numbers were faded and unreadbale.
Got lock pliers from the office
And since I was eyeing on CNC milling machines .. that might be a nice project. I am thinking about stealing the correction scheme used on CD to be scratch resistant.
It is a bit like taking on a project and not knowing the admin password, it takes seconds if you know the codebase to fix it.
Additionally, the safe in question seems to be a SentrySafe SF082CS, which caries NO security rating from UL. The lowest test rating, RSC, only requires the safe survive a 5 minute attack with hand tools.
Not bolting it down does make it much easier to steal. A small safe like this can be carried off pretty easily. Even with a large safe, being able to move it can make it easier to use a pry-bar or to cut through a side-panel.
As a sibling commented RSCs are the lowest level and appropriate for home use of low level valuables. Expect $500-1000 and up. TL rated products are almoat always geared towards commercial use. When I was looking a local safe company had a korean made TL-15 with 1 hr fire resistance for about $2500. This was a very bare bones commercial demo/returned unit about 2'x3'x5' interior.
All safes and RSCs must be anchored to the structure on 2 or more sides to be effective. RSCs or "gun safes" will simply be pulled/cut out of the structure if not anchored. TL safes will be knocked over and attacked at the door or floor.
Heres UL testing a safe that probably costs $10,000+ today. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OtbGUbeM860
Not at all! If you're renting in a high-rise building, the floors will be concrete below the laminate or hardwood. A good safe will have either 4 holes or 1 center hole in the base to allow you to anchor it to the floor. Use a concrete drill bit to drill a hole in your apartment floor in a discreet area, like in a closet or laundry room. If you can borrow a hammer drill it'll be faster, but even an ordinary drill will work, though slower. Make sure you buy a concrete drill bit.
Then attach the safe using concrete screws and anchors. You can use either a self-tapping concrete screw or, better, put the correct size expanding sleeve into the hole first[1]. Even with a single concrete anchor/screw, the safe will be 100 times more difficult to steal. I've seen expensive TL-15 safes ($5000+) with only one center hole in the base, so I assume the manufacturer thought that was sufficient (if properly anchored).
Before you place the safe, put down a sheet of plastic or a very thin patch of carpet to protect the laminate or hardwood floor. Cut holes in the plastic sheet or carpet for the concrete screws.
When you move out of your rented apartment, fill the holes with putty matching the color of the laminate or hardwood floor. If you make a small effort at patching up, the holes will be invisible.
One more piece of advice: The drilling won't take long, but it'll be very loud. If you have a nosy landlord or superintendent, do the drilling when he's not around. A superintendent, for example, is unlikely to work on a Saturday or Sunday.
Also, cover the safe with a sheet or blanket, so if someone casually looks in your closet or laundry room, the safe won't be noticed.
http://howtospecialist.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/How-to...
Edit: in an appartment building check your floor loading. A little jewelry/document safe is probably fine. Big get very heavy very quick on a relatively small surface area.
Anecdotal I know, but I wouldn't assume most people are terribly attentive.
Forget about stealing safes from apartments, I wouldn't be shocked if you could rob an actual bank vault by dressing as a construction crew.
Ross Anderson's Security Engineering has a fun chapter on this topic.
For anyone who wants a good safe cracking story, this book is excellent: https://www.amazon.com/Flawless-Inside-Largest-Diamond-Histo...
A group of Italians went to Belgium's diamond district and bypassed an very expensive vault door. The best part was using an aerosol can of hair spray attached to a broom to defeat the top of the line motion sensors.
Edit: Can anyone explain why it's a 30 minute test for UL 30x6?
So yeah, if your safe isn't bolted down, a burglar will probably just take it with them.
It depends on the type of safe. I'm not a locksmith, but I have researched this, and this is how I understand it.
There are "security" safes (aka "burglar" safes), and "fireproof" safes. A security safe should be bolted to the floor, to stop the bad guys ripping it out. It comes with pre-drilled holes for that purpose. However, a fireproof safe should not have any thru-wall holes, since a fireproof safe must protect against the deluge of water that will occur when the fire is put out. Thus, fireproof safes are often glued instead of bolted.
Some time ago, a relative showed me his new safe. It didn't have any pre-drilled holes, so he drilled some in, so he could bolt it to the floor. I chose not to tell him the following: (1) The fact that he could drill any holes in the safe, using his trusty Black & Decker drill, showed that it was a fireproof safe - not a security safe; and (2), drilling those holes destroyed its value as a fireproof safe!
In summary, you need to decide what's most important - theft protection, or fire protection. Those are different types of safes. The problem is they look identical to the untrained eye.
[edit: sp]
I know that a lot of people don't appreciate advice though, but still if this relative respects you they should listen.
Fair comment. But I guessed that all he wanted was something that would stop a burglar from bashing it open in 5 minutes. It's probably fine for that purpose. But I might say something to him next time.
It's amazing how heavy a burglar safe is - even a small one. I have one just big enough to store some documents, spare phone, keys, and some cash. But it took two guys and a trolley to get it up the stairs to my apartment. Even if a burglar could rip it out of the floor, and push it down the stairs, I doubt that they could lift it up into their car or whatever.
'... speaking to Wired magazine earlier this month, when the team demonstrated its method on a smaller safe, a spokeswoman for the safe maker said: "In this environment, the product accomplished what it was designed to do."'
More seriously though, I consulted a friend and neighbor when buying a safe for my home. This person who owns a locksmith shop and is a registered locksmith (and has been for > 20 years) asked me to look up the median response time of the police to my address. Since I live near the police station it was fairly small. He said you only need a safe that can last 15 - 20 minutes and you will need to anchor it so that it can't be easily yanked out of your house. Any professional thief will skip it and it may keep an amateur working on it long enough for the police to arrive and arrest them in the act.
That made a lot of sense to me.
I've seen a TL-15 safe that came as 6 separate modular pieces (i.e., 5 walls and the door each weighing about 100-150 pounds) that you bolted together, internally, with about 50-60 heavy bolts. It was specifically intended for condos, high rise offices, etc., so you could easily transport each piece on a hand cart or dolly, then assemble in place. It was a beautiful design, but no longer manufactured as far as I can tell.
> You bought a TL-15 safe for your home?
Please check if your safe can actually handle heat and water.
I wanted to see a hulking brute of a robot peel the safe like an apple with its powerful metal claws.
This seems to be an exhaustive-search combination lock solver. Someone else has built one that not only manipulates the lock, but uses a contact microphone to listen to it. But I can't find the reference.
>> half-digit tolerance
There is a big difference between 0.55digit tolerance (might be able to try two numbers at once with enough mechanical precision to the solver) and 0.45digit tolerance.
Um.. that also seems like an important problem?
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/building-a-safe-crackin...
Unlike hand tools, the improvement curve of such robots will be interesting to watch over time. [Edit: especially to the extent that the improvement is partly in the innovative hands of the hacker / maker community as opposed to just a few commercial companies as with existing "speed dialers."]
My neighbour had his two jet skis stolen from his carport on a weekday, they were chained to a post.
The auto shop across from my work had their delivery ute stolen from inside the building while six staff were an open door way away.
I caught someone sitting in my car trying to start it with a screwdriver. I nearly asked him if he wanted me to show him how it's done.
I keep telling my partner not to leave her laptops and cashbox visible from the windows and to lock the front door when she's in the bathroom or backyard.
People I thought were my friends have stolen from me.
Unless you have something worth protecting and the budget to protect it... Security is a hopeless mess.
1. https://www.canstar.com.au/home-insurance/state-hotspots-for...
Anyone have any idea where to buy them from ?
Or unbarred windows.
- "You shouldn't have parked there. "
- "You shouldn't have left anything visible in your vehicle."
- "You shouldn't have left anything invisible in the trunk, either."
As for "key right next to house" how else do you propose letting agents show your property to prospective buyers or tenants?
In SF, property crimes don't matter. I once had a road rager shoot at me and blow a window out in my car. SFPD response? "We can't find the round (bullet), so we'll just give you a case number (and no further investigation)."
Edit: typo
Would you want to bother investing the case where someone in SF shot at a car and no-one was injured.
Also, give the agent a key and/or get a key box with a pass code and give that to the agent. There really is no excuse to hide a key on the property these days.
(Is "road eager" auto-correct for something?)
Yeah, this attitude in the Bay Area has also befuddled me too. Its the victims fault.
You'll be spending money to replace the stolen items, presumably some of that locally, and on repairs, presumably all locally. Meanwhile, whatever money the criminals get back in selling the stolen items (and subsequent profits by their fences) will also presumably be spent locally.
Properly crime + little evidence = contact you're insurer thanks have a nice day.
little evidence
I bet pretty much every thief leaves fingerprints now; police haven't taken prints for pure property crimes in years. (In contrast, SJPD did take prints for a car break-in in 1986).
Every week, you hear of a neighborhood getting hit by a gang, with 30+ vehicles affected -- total losses well into the felony range.
A gang could be shut down in a month if bait cars with GPS-tracked bags were used. Same with front-porch package thefts (always rampant).
Give the letting agent a key to hold on to? Use an electronic keypad lock? Perhaps in your specific situation those are not feasible, but it’s not like there aren’t alternatives.